Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

Kendus: Primer on when and where you can hunt in Delaware

Although I’ve been hunting for more than 20 years, I am still surprised by the lack of knowledge non-hunters have about hunting laws, rules and regulations.

Many people believe that some game animals (especially deer and geese) can be hunted year-round, on any day, at any time, and in any location. Since I never shy away from a chance to educate, I simply explain how biologists and state and federal officials set hunting seasons that are typically limited to weeks or months and that regulations for most species limit hunting to daylight hours.

Explaining where people can hunt is a bit more complicated.

As soon as the topic of hunting locations comes up, I explain that Delaware hunters can hunt on public land, but I’m quick to point out that all public lands are not open to hunting. Delaware hunters can pursue game on designated state wildlife areas, state forests, state parks, and national wildlife refuges (Bombay Hook and Prime Hook), but the rules may differ -- sometimes drastically -- between public hunting locations.

Some areas restrict hunting to certain species, some open only certain sections to hunting, some allow only archery hunting, and some -- state parks -- require an additional registration fee. What’s more, hunting some species, like deer, turkeys, and waterfowl, on some public lands requires hunters to enter into competitive preseason or in-season lotteries in which hunters are selected to hunt on specified days and areas.

Rather than competing for public hunting opportunities and locations, hunters who own land can opt to hunt their private properties. Hunters who don’t own land will seek permission to hunt others’ private property free of charge, or they will lease land and hunting rights from property owners.

It’s no secret that most game is harvested on private land in Delaware, so hunters spend a lot of time—and money—procuring prime hunting leases. Depending on property size and features (like woods, agriculture fields, and ponds) lease rates can exceed $10,000 per year. In areas that frequently produce high harvests of deer and geese, competition for the prized spots sometimes creates bidding wars that price some hunters out of the market.

To even the hunting lease playing field, some hunters create and join private hunt clubs where members pool their resources to purchase or lease multiple hunting properties. Club members typically pay annual dues in exchange for hunting rights, insurance policies, and shared use of resources like stands and decoys. Some hunt clubs also provide other social-club-like benefits to their members, including hosting game dinners and out-of-state hunting or fishing trips.

Interestingly, many people believe that private property that is not posted with “no trespassing” signs is open to anyone who wants to hunt it. While that belief may hold true in other states, it does not in Delaware. In fact, you can’t hunt on private property in Delaware without the landowner’s permission, whether the property is posted or not.

Also, just another tidbit: in most cases, “posted” and “no hunting” signs are actually hung by hunters who want to warn other hunters to stay away. So in a weird twist of logic, “no hunting” signs frequently indicate that people are actively hunting a property.